Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
Most of you reading this article will have seen by now the horrendously unfortunate injury suffered by goalkeeper Bartłomiej Drągowski during Sunday afternoon’s clash between Spezia and Hellas Verona.
In case you haven’t, let me describe the situation. Drągowski comes racing out of his goal to the near touchline and wins the ball in a 50/50 with Kevin Lasagna. A combination of bad luck, Lasagna’s foot, the ball and the turf conspire to cause a catastrophic looking injury to Drągowski’s ankle. Needless to say he was unable to continue, and immediately ruled out of the World Cup.
Several conflicting reports in both Italy and Poland tried to confirm the exact injury Drągowski suffered in the aftermath of the incident. In no particular order, it was reported that he had suffered one of: a dislocated ankle, a complete tear of all ankle ligaments, a broken ankle or a fractured leg. One day on from the injury and Spezia have confirmed on their club website that the injury was indeed a dislocated ankle.
Kamil Grabara has been called up in Drągowski’s place for the World Cup, and many have been quick to point out how quick Grabara was to heap praise on Denmark after missing out on Poland’s initial 26-man squad. Personally, I don’t see as much of an issue as some have regarding Grabara’s comments. It’s perfectly natural to praise the national team of the country you play in, although it must be acknowledged that Grabara went a little over the top in denigrating the chances of his own country in the process.
As unlikely as it was that Drągowski would have seen time on the pitch in Qatar, it’s still an injury that will feel like a blow to Czesław Michniewicz and the players, especially due to the severity and the timing. You would hope it won’t affect the rhythm of preparations too heavily, as Poland have plenty of adequate options in the goalkeeping department. Prior to this injury, young Legia keeper Kacper Tobiasz had been called up as a non-playing member of the squad, to earn experience and with a view to getting him involved in the full national set-up as soon as possible. As I said at the start of this paragraph, it’s unlikely anyone other than Wojciech Szczęsny will feature in goal for Poland at the World Cup, but there is solid back-up in the shape of Grabara and Łukasz Skorupski.
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